Latgale National Economy Research

YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT AND ITS MAIN CAUSES IN LATGALE REGION

Anda Zvaigzne, Inese Saulāja, Aija Čerpinska

Abstract

Youth unemployment is an urgent problem in the European Union, as well as in the regions of Latvia. The research aim is to examine the trends and the causes of youth unemployment in Latgale region and to make proposals for improving the situation. Youth unemployment is a significant problem in Latvia, as unemployed youngsters make up 13.1% of the total number of unemployed in the country, while in Latgale region the number of unemployed young people aged of 15-24 amounted to 8.8% of the total number of unemployed in 2014. The novelty of the present research is that the known unemployment causes for youths (aged of 15-24) were defined more precisely and new causes of youth unemployment in Latgale region were revealed. In Latgale, there are various causes of youth unemployment, such as lack of professional skills, poor preparedness for the labour market, lack of foreign language skills (especially the Russian language) as well as lack of social competences (cooperation or work in a team, communication, skills to take responsibility and lack of self-confidence).

Latgalē vairāk nekā pusei bezdarbnieku darba nav ilgstoši (More than Half of the Unemployed in Latgale have no Job for a Long Time ) Retrieved March 13, 2015, from http://financenet.tvnet.lv/zinas/552188-latgale_vairak_neka_pusei_ bezdarbnieku_darba_nav_ilgstosi